Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia villifera |
|
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American ipecac, Carolina ipecac, ipecac spurge |
hairy spurge |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, with deep, stout rootstock. | Herbs, annual or perennial, with slender taproot or thickened, woody rootstock. |
Stems | decumbent or slightly ascending, branched, often densely clumped, previous year's dead stems not persistent, 17–27 cm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely villous. |
usually erect to ascending, rarely prostrate to decumbent, 10–30 cm, papillate, usually villous, sometimes glabrous. |
Leaves | alternate; stipules 0.1–0.2 mm; petiole (0–)1–2 mm, glabrous; blade usually linear, obovate, or oblanceolate to orbiculate, rarely filiform, proximal greatly reduced, scalelike, 15–70 × 1.5–13 mm gradually smaller proximally, base cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded, broadly acute, or emarginate, surfaces glabrous; venation occasionally obscure on smaller leaves, midvein conspicuous. |
opposite; stipules distinct, filiform, usually undivided, rarely divided into 2–3 segments), 0.3–0.7 mm, glabrous, papillate; petiole 0.6–1.8 mm, usually villous, rarely glabrous; blade ovate, 3–12 × 2–10 mm, base asymmetric, rounded to slightly cordate, margins entire or serrulate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces usually villous, rarely glabrous; only midvein conspicuous. |
Involucre | yellow or yellow-green, hemispheric, 1–1.2 × 2–2.4 mm, glabrous; glands 5, yellow or yellow-green, obovate or elliptic, 0.7–0.8 × 1–1.2 mm; appendages white or green, often forming narrow rim around distal margin of gland, 0–0.2 mm, entire. |
campanulate, 0.7–0.9 × 0.6–1 mm, glabrous or pilose; glands 4, pink, oval, oblong, or trapezoidal, 0.1–0.2 × 0.2 mm; appendages white to pink, flabellate, oblong, ovate, or nearly rectangular, 0.2–0.4 × 0.2–0.6 mm, distal margin entire. |
Staminate flowers | 10–20. |
10–25. |
Pistillate flowers | ovary glabrous; styles 0.4–0.8 mm, 2-fid at apex. |
ovary glabrous; styles 0.3–0.5 mm, 2-fid 1/2 to nearly entire length. |
Capsules | globose, 2.3–3.4 × 3.5–4.2 mm, glabrous; columella 3–3.1 mm. |
oblate-deltoid, cocci often elongated and terminating in an empty portion, 1.5–2 × 2.1–3.1 mm, glabrous; columella 0.9–1.5 mm. |
Seeds | white or brown, ovoid, 2.3–2.5 × 1.5 mm, angular, with 5 longitudinal ridges, shallowly and irregularly pitted; caruncle absent. |
gray-brown to red-brown, ovoid-oblong, weakly 4-angled in cross section, 1–1.4 × 0.6–0.8 mm, smooth, faintly rugose, or with inconspicuous transverse ridges. |
Cyathia | usually in terminal dichasia, sometimes pleiochasia; peduncle 10–50(–70) mm, glabrous. |
solitary at distal nodes; peduncles 0–1.8 mm. |
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae |
Euphorbia villifera |
|
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early summer. | Flowering and fruiting early spring–early winter. |
Habitat | Pine and pine-oak savannas, pine-oak sand hills, turkey oak scrub, open sand habitats. | Riparian forests with walnuts and sycamores, juniper woodlands, pine-oak woodlands, mostly on limestone substrates. |
Elevation | 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.) | 100–1400 m. (300–4600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; GA; MD; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA
|
TX; Mexico; Central America |
Discussion | The vegetative stems of Euphorbia ipecacuanhae are often quite short in proportion to the dichasial or pleiochasial branches, thus superficially plants often appear to have mostly opposite leaves. However, careful examination of the base of the plant will reveal alternate leaves. The leaves are extremely variable in both shape and coloration, and the variation can be pronounced within a population or even on a single plant. M. J. Huft (1979) did not recognize infraspecific taxa within E. ipecacuanhae, and his treatment is followed here. This species is found on the Atlantic coastal plain. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Although Euphorbia villifera has been reported from New Mexico (W. C. Martin and C. R. Hutchins 1980), no vouchers to verify its presence there were located. In Texas, E. villifera is known from the Edwards Plateau westward into the trans-Pecos region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 247. | FNA vol. 12, p. 293. |
Parent taxa | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Alectoroctonum | Euphorbiaceae > Euphorbia > sect. Anisophyllum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | E. arundelana, Tithymalopsis ipecacuanhae | Chamaesyce stanfieldii, C. villifera, E. stanfieldii, E. villifera var. nuda |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 455. (1753) | Scheele: Linnaea 22: 153. (1849) |
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